ABOVE: Missouri City Council Member Jeffrey L. Boney
The results of the November 2019 election are in and, as customary, the Houston Forward Times is always on the scene to provide the key outcomes of races the community has been following.
First off, a huge congratulations goes out once again to the Forward Times’ own Associate Editor, Jeffrey L. Boney, who won his contested race for re-election in resounding fashion, generating an overwhelming 66% of the vote to continue on for a second term on Missouri City Council representing District B. This race was an extremely interesting and seemingly unprecedented one, in that Boney was facing a challenger who was openly endorsed by the newly elected mayor and the two At-Large council members. Boney said that despite the obstacles he faced running for re-election, he believes the work he has done during his first term on Missouri City Council, coupled with his vision for the future of Missouri City, resonated with the voters.
“I am so grateful to the voters of District B for re-electing me to represent them for a second term,” said Boney. “In a competitive race, it is practically impossible to get 100% of the vote. I received 66% of the vote, which means there are still 34% of the people who I still plan to fight for and represent, with the hopes of gaining their trust and support moving forward. As I begin my second term, you can expect me to continue being a fierce advocate for the people I serve. I will continue asking the tough questions and continue advocating for NO tax increases, public safety, increased mobility options, economic development and redevelopment all across the District, as well as other key issues in order to make Missouri City the best place to live.”
There were no runoffs in any of the Missouri City Council races. As far as the City of Houston is concerned, however, there was a lot of excitement involving their city elections, especially related to runoffs in the Houston Mayor’s race and nearly all of the contested City Council races.
This election featured a stacked 12-person field seeking to unseat incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is seeking a second term as the top-brass at Houston City Hall. After the dust settled in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Turner finished slightly below the 50% mark to avoid a runoff (47%) and will be challenged by Tony Buzbee in a run-off election in December. Buzbee received 28% of the vote. Bill King, who Turner defeated in a runoff to become Houston’s mayor in 2015, finished with only 14% of the overall vote. Other challengers in the race finished well below 10 percent, including: outgoing District D Council Member Dwight Boykins (6%); Victoria Moreno (1%); former Council Member Sue Lovell (1%); Demetria Smith (1%); Roy J. Vasquez (1%); Kendall Baker (1%); Derrick Broze (1%); Johnny ‘J.T.’ Taylor (1%); and Naoufal Houjami (1%).
Every incumbent that holds a seat at Houston City Hall was faced with an opponent. Some had more than one, which is why there are several other races that are headed to a December 14th runoff, with several involving incumbents who are seeking to hang on to their political lives.
The fireworks and major fallout from the District B race involved the candidates seeking to replace term-limited Council Member Jerry Davis, Tarsha Jackson (21%) and Cynthia Bailey (14%) are headed to a runoff. The drama involving this race did not happen during the election, but after the election, when candidate Renee Jefferson Smith, who finished in third place (13%), sent out a press release indicating that she was securing a lawyer to look into the qualifications of Bailey, the second-place candidate. Per Smith, she claims that Bailey is an ex-felon and should be disqualified from holding public office. This action has caused a huge stir in the District B community of Houston, with people on both sides expressing their views on the matter. It will be interesting to see how this entire ordeal plays out, not only in actual court, but also in the court of public opinion; especially with the people who voted for Bailey as their candidate of choice.
In the District D race, which is being vacated by Council Member Boykins who decided to run for Houston Mayor, Houston Community College Trustee Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (17%) will square off with legendary Houston hip-hop legend Brad ‘Scarface’ Jordan (15%). In the District F race, former Alief ISD Trustee Tiffany Thomas (39%) will face Van Huynh (23%). In the District J race, Edward Pollard (30%) will be in a runoff with Sandra Rodriguez (30%).
In the At-large Position 1 race, incumbent Mike Knox (36%) will face-off with Raj Salhotra (23%) in a run-off. In the At-Large Position 2 race, incumbent David Robinson will face Willie R. Davis (27%), who fell short against Robinson in a runoff for the same seat in 2015. Incumbent City Council Member Michael Kubosh could not avoid a runoff this election cycle, having garnered 48% of the vote, and will go up against challenger Janaeya Carmouche, who generated 22% of the vote in a four-person race to force a runoff in the At-Large Position 3 race. In the At-Large Position 4 race being vacated by Council Member Amanda Edwards, who decided to throw her name in the hat for U.S. Senate, Anthony Dolcefino (21%) will face tough competition from former U.S. Congressional candidate Leticia Plummer. In the At-Large Position 5 race, for the opportunity to replace term-limited Council Member Jack Christie, Sallie Alcorn (23%) will square up against Eric Dick (20%).
In other races where there is a runoff, Amy Peck (45%) will face George Harry Zoes for District A; Abbie Kamin (32%) will face Shelley Kennedy (14%) for District C; and Karla Cisneros (38%) will face Isabel Longoria (27%) for District H.
Dave Martin (District E), Greg Travis (District G), Robert Gallegos (District I) and Martha Castex-Tatum (District K) all won convincingly to avoid a runoff.
Houston City Controller Chris Brown was able to defeat challenger Orlando Sanchez. Brown received 53% of the vote, while Sanchez received 47%.
All, but one of the State amendment propositions, passed, with the exception of Proposition 1. The METRO Transit Authority, Proposition A, easily passed as well.
As we always say…Voting Matters!
So, be sure to pay attention and exercise your right to vote again on Saturday, December 14th for the City of Houston runoff election and we will continue to keep you abreast of Early Voting and Election Day times and locations.